John Byrne Namor/Hulk Battle Pinup

(click for larger image) I've been a John Byrne fan since I first discovered his work back in the early 80's.  He's been my favorite comic creator ever since.  He's not only a great artist, but a great storyteller.  On many of his books, he has been the writer, penciler, inker, and letterer!  And he has produced a LOT of great work.  He's a legend.  Over the years he's done some amazing commission pieces.  I thought about signing up for one, but I don't like the idea of buying something sight unseen.  So I was lucky to have found this great pinup that another collector was selling.  It's 11 x 17 - and the figures are nearly bursting off the page!  Classic Byrne!

Big Barda Poster art - Adam Hughes

 

 

(click for larger image) In keeping with my last post, I thought I'd share another Adam Hughes piece that I added to my collection not long ago.  As I mentioned in that post, Adam is adept in many mediums - pencil, ink, color, and digital color.  So the Wonder Woman cover that I recently posted scratched my itch for a nice inked piece by him.  Adam is also known for his illustrations rendered in Copic marker.  These are done in warm grey tones and then scanned into Photoshop and tweaked to add color.  It's a great technique and a clever use of both mediums.  But to pull it off, you have to be really good with the Copics - and he is.  I like this piece because it's Adam at his most "painterly" - he's so expert at layering the tones to get volume on his figures.  And speaking of his figures - Big Barda is one of my favorites!  I had never seen the original for this piece nor the poster that it was created for.  But I walked into a convention and saw it on display and fell in love with it.  Luckily, the seller included one of the original posters with the purchase.  Its  a limited edition print and I have an Artist's Proof - they're actually quite hard to find now.  But nothing trumps the original!

Heeeeeere's Jonni!!

One of my favorite characters from Alan Moore's ABC line of comics was Jonni Future. The reason is simple - Art Adams. Art really pushed himself to a new level while working on the book, and I'm really pleased to have another Jonni piece in my collection. The amount of work he puts into these pinups is just incredible. (Pencils and inks by Art Adams. Click for larger image)

Art Adams Storm 2

After about 5 years of admiring this piece, I've finally been able to add it to my collection! This was originally done one month after my Art Adams Jonni Future pinup way back in 2004. I'd seen it change hands a few times, and let the last owner know that I wanted it next! I think these pinups that Art has done in the past several years are some of his best. Now I need to go find another one to covet... :) (click for larger image)

Daredevil 217 Splash - 1985

UPDATE: SOLD IN 2010!

If it wasn't for David Mazzucchelli, I may have never discovered Frank Miller. Back in the 1980's, when I started reading comics full-time, I almost always made buying decisions based on the artist of the book. Coming in at issue 216 (I think), I'd completely missed out on Miller's original run on Daredevil. For me, Daredevil was defined by Denny O'Neil scripts and Mazzucchelli art. The stories were dark and moody, and Mazzucchelli's art was the perfect fit. Miller would be back on the book with issue 227 - the first of a seven issue story arc, later collected in a trade edition entitled "Born Again" (now a classic - see the other Mazzucchelli pages from this saga in this blog). But prior to Miller's return, there was some great stuff being done on this title. I recently re-read most of these stories, and they really hold up well. I was happy to pick up this splash, penciled and inked by Mazzucchelli himself (click for larger image).

Asajj Ventress by Mahmud Asrar

This is a great piece by a relatively unknown artist Mahmud Asrar. I think he's super-talented and reminds me a lot of the great Adam Hughes who he cites as an influence (click for larger image).

UPDATE: SOLD THIS PIECE IN JUNE OF 2008!!

Art Adams Wolfman

I can't get enough of these incredibly rendered Art Adams pinups. While I generally prefer the sexy female characters he does, this one was too nice to pass up. (click for larger scan.)

Frazetta - The Trials of Judas Wiley

Frazetta is a God. There, I said it. I'd love to own bunches of Frazetta's, but the stuff isn't cheap. This is a cool pencil prelim for the 1972 painting. (Click for larger image.)

Update 01/17/08: Thought I'd add the picture of the finished painting which is remarkably similar to the prelim:

UPDATE - SOLD THIS PIECE IN MAY 2009!!

Alpha Flight 26 End Splash

The big reveal! You didn't think Byrne was going to fake a death, did you!? (Pencils and inks John Byrne. Click for larger image.)

Art Adams Storm

Have to give a shout out to my good friend Mario for selling me this piece. Hey Mario! I LOVE it!! (Pencils and inks Art Adams. Click for larger image.)

Art Adams Jonni Future

This was my first Art Adams pinup. He did this one personally for me so I guess that makes it a little extra special. I'm a HUGE fan of Jonni Future, so I was stoked when I got this piece. (Pencils and inks Art Adams. Click for larger image.)

Art Adams Batgirl

Art kills me with these awesome pinups. I absolutely love having them in my collection. If you have one and are considering selling, please contact me! (Pencils and inks Art Adams . Click for larger image.)

Elektra Assassin

Frank Miller was on a tear in 1986 (as highlighted in my article for CFA-APA 69). Here are some of the things he released that year: The Dark Knight Returns, Daredevil: Born Again, and Elektra Assassin. I think it's safe to say that it will be considered the best year of his career. This splash sat on a dealer's website for a loooong time. One day a buddy of mine and I were discussing it and he said "Some day that piece will be gone and we'll both wonder why we didn't buy it." So I bought it. It's the only color piece in my collection and the only Bill Sienkiewicz piece in my collection (which is too bad). (Bill Sienkiewicz all. Click for larger image).

Art Adams Powergirl

Art Adams has really kicked it up a notch in recent years. This Powergirl piece is what he calls a convention "sketch". They aren't cheap, but I think they're worth every penny. I'm looking for more of these (Art Adams pencils and inks. Click for larger image).